Human hair is the keratin-containing threadlike outgrowths extending from hair follicles in the skin. In humans, hair generally serves protective, sensory, and sexual attractiveness functions. A mature hair shaft is composed of three, and sometimes four, basic structures. The cuticle is the thick outer protective covering consisting of flat overlapping scalelike layers. The cortex is located inside, and is surrounded by, the cuticle. The cortex contains fibrous proteins which are aligned along the length of the hair axis. Thicker hairs often contain one or more porous regions--the medulla--located near or at the center of the hair shaft. The fourth basic component is the intercellular cement which glues or binds the cells together and provides the main pathway for diffusion into the hair fibers. Melanocytes which produce melanin, the pigment responsible for hair color, are generally contained in the cortex and the base of the bulb of the hair shaft. Essential nutrients and oxygen are carried to the growing hair through capillaries around the base of the bulb.
Gray hair, like death and taxes, is often considered to be inevitable part of life and the aging process. Graying of hair generally results from a gradual replacement of pigmented hair by unpigmented hair as the melanocytes shut down pigment production as one gets older. This graying process often starts at around age forty (although it can begin much earlier or later) with the onset and rate of graying apparently controlled mainly by genetics. By some estimates, approximately 50 percent of all women will be at least partially gray by the age of fifty. In most cases, the graying process has generally been considered irreversible; once the hair follicle starts to produce gray hair, it is not likely to change back. Thus, for most individuals with graying or already-turned gray hair the options are limited: acceptance of the situation or masking with colorants, bleaches, dyes, highlights, head coverings, or wigs. Once coloring techniques are used, however, they must be repeated (or at least touched up) on a regular basis to maintain the color and avoid undesirable gray roots.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide alternatives for combating gray hair, especially ones which will increase and promote the overall healthiness of the hair. It would also be desirable to provide a method by which, at least in some cases, the onset of gray hair can be significantly delayed or even prevented. It would also be desirable to provide a method by which, at least in some cases, already-turned gray hair can be restored to its original natural color. The dietary supplement and methods of the present invention provides such benefits and advantages.